According to G1, which is the online news service of O Globo newspaper, Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki approved the request. Criminal lawyer Antonio Carlos de Almeida Castro, Esteves' lawyer, had sought to free the banker earlier in the day.

The temporary arrest order for Esteves, which was issued on Nov. 25, lasted for five days. Under the terms of Zavascki's decision, Esteves is now under preventative imprisonment, which has no deadline. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Tatiana Bautzer and Roberto Samora)